Conversation between Callum (Eastern team driver) and Li (Eastern team rider) part 1.
Theme: riding alone/ driving alone
Background: For the most part of the trip of the Eastern team since July 27, Callum has been driving the support vehicle by himself. Since Aug 24, Li has been the only rider of the Eastern team as all the other riders returned home. We wanted to share our experience here.
Callum: Do you think that cycling alone helps you go faster?
Li: No, I realized cycling with other people makes me go faster.
Li: Do you feel lonely when you drive alone?
Callum: Sometimes, but usually no. I’m too busy to feel lonely. I’m always either going somewhere or doing something, I never just drive mindlessly.
Callum: Do you feel lonely riding alone?
Li: No. When riding alone, I don’t listen to music, I would keep my focus on breathing and pedaling. It feels like meditation, moving meditation.
Li: What you wish you had when driving alone?
Callum: Sometimes someone to talk to, I guess. Usually, I enjoy being alone for a bit. I wish I had a nicer car (laugh). I don’t think I need anything.
Callum: What’s the scariest part about riding alone?
Li: I’ll give you an example. The morning I left River Run campground, I followed the Google Maps cycling route to Fredericton. Very soon, I realized that it was back country roads, deep into the wood, unpaved, and as I cycled further, the road got narrower and worse condition. I was thinking about 100 ways to get killed in the woods. I might come across a black bear, a moose, or simply get lost since the cell signal was very bad. So after 13 km riding on that road, I decided to stop going forward and rode 13km back, and got onto another road. But normally, I feel comfortable and confident riding alone.
Li: What is your concern when driving alone?
Callum: When driving a long time, it’s easy to zone out and get sleepy. But it’s not really too bad. Another one is that I’m bad at directions. Sometimes, I start driving without knowing where I am going, I would get stuck on the highway, and I can’t get off, just wasting gas.
Callum: What is your favorite part about riding alone?
Li: The favorite part is to ride with my own pace, a sustainable pace, and stop whenever I want. I usually stop several times on the ride, to drink water, to eat snacks, or to take pills. But when I’m with a group, I’m hesitant to stop all the time because it might interrupt the rhythm of the team.
Li: Advice for the driver of next year?
Callum: Try to stay relaxed and stay calm. It’s easier said than done. When you have 10 riders out there, you feel responsible for them because you know that if anything happens to them or if they need anything, you are the one to go take care of them. But you also have a million other things to do. It’s important to stay relaxed and go with the flow. I feel like I’ve done a good job most of the trip, but when we had more riders, I found myself super stressed out, and it was not fun. Next time maybe there should be two drivers.
Callum: What’s your thoughts about New Brunswick compared to other provinces?
Li: NB is beyond my expectations. I remember the evening when we were driving to the campground, beautiful sunset and clouds, the long bridge and river under, the mountains around and the reflection in the water. It was a memorable moment for sure. The several interactions with locals were lovely, at parking lots, at the bike shop, cafes, and at the brewery. We heard stories about their colleague, family and friends with parkinson’s.
